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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

In 2002 Luke Beaverson was busy playing hockey for the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. A good number of scouts and coaches had watched him play. He'd impressed some of them and soon he was offered an NCAA scholarship. No doubt Luke was pumped about going to the much heralded North Dakota to play. So he spent the next season in the USHL developing and looking forward to 2004 when he'd be playing D-1 hockey. He'd been drafted by the Florida Panthers and playing at UND certainly wouldn't hurt his standing with the NHL folks. So Luke finished up his last year of junior hockey and then like a shot out of the dark UND changes their mind. They wanted him to play another year of juniors and then "maybe" he could come play for them the next year. They told him it was for his development. But the truth is that they'd overcommitted to players and Luke didn't fit into their plans anymore.

Big Luke knew he was ready to play at the next level. Playing another year of juniors certainly wasn't likely to do anything positive for his career. The rest (as they say) is history. UAA offered Luke a scholarship. He came. He saw. He liked. In his freshman year Lukes game was to hit and to hit often. In front of the net he was impassable. If an opposition forward went into the corner when Luke was on the ice they'd remember it. He played in all 37 games as a freshman and by the end of the season was a stalwart on the blueline. As a sophmore he played 34 games and continued his good defensive play; by the end of the season was showing signs of becoming an offensive threat as well. His confidence with the puck was growing and from time to time he displayed that confidence by adding the ability to carry the puck up the ice to his repetoire. This season he has taken another step forward and become both a force on the blueline as well as an offensive threat. In his first two full DI seasons Luke scored one goal and added 5 assists. This season in 10 games he has scored 2 goals and added 3 assists.

The Phoenix metaphor comes from mythology. Luke plays for a team now with a name derived from mythology. Some UND players will learn this weekend that reality and mythology are two different things. Myth's don't hand out bruises.